1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed towards a fishing lure, comprising a lure body having connecting means for connecting a fishing line to the lure body and at least one hook device which consists of hook shank means with associated attachment device, and one or more hook tip shafts with associated barb equipped tip, which hook device is non-releasably secured to the lure body by the attachment device.
More particularly, the invention is directed towards a fishing lure which does not tend to catch in reeds, seaweed and the like, for example, when fishing in shallow water or in well vegetated stretches of water.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fishing lures catch easily in reeds, seaweed and other objects in the water whereupon the line may break leading to loss of the lure. Additionally, a landing net is generally necessary when fishing with the hitherto known lures. There have been many proposals to resolve these problems, but thus far no proposal has been presented which is simple and cheap to manufacture, is of low weight and non-dangerous to handle and which at the same time also functions such that the fish catches on the hook so effectively as to enable fishing without a landing net. Lure hooks generally catch in water weeds and other objects due to one or more of the hook tips penetrating into the weed/object. When this happens, the hook generally sits fast very firmly therein. In this respect, the lure may sit fast so firmly in some objects that the line breaks and the lure is lost. This is obviously undesirable and irritating during all sorts of fishing with conventional fishing lures, and hooks. This is a particularly serious problem when fishing for pike, for instance, and other fish which tend to keep to shallow, reedy inlets and similar waters. It is also a problem when fishing for cod, for example, and other fish which usually lie on the bottom.
Fishing lures equipped with spines have been described previously and the spine can protect against individual reed stems, seaweed strands and similar objects but fishing lures having spines, however, generally catch when the plant growth in the water is dense. It is not possible to fish in dense reeds, for example, with these lures. Additionally, the spines often get in the way when the fish bite, which can lead to the fish not catching on the hook. Furthermore, there is a risk that the fish may see the spine and be scared off.
There are also several of types of fishing lures having hooks hidden within a flexible material. When the fish bites, the flexible material is pressed together and hooks are laid bare through openings in the flexible material. The hooks, however, do not easily catch in the mouth of the fish because they are to some extent also shielded therefrom by the surrounding soft body envelope. The construction also leads to a relatively substantial water resistance, and water weed and other objects can easily catch in the openings in the lure body. The construction is also rather complicated, heavy and expensive.
Swedish patent specification no. 21 651 depicts a fishing lure having hooks retracted into the lure body by spring action or in a similar manner, which hooks are folded out when the fishing line is sufficiently tensioned, which occurs when the fish bites. The construction is, however, rather complicated and there is also a risk that the hook is unintentionally folded out due to some mishap. The complicated construction is also comparatively expensive. A further device in relation to pike lures is described in Swedish patent no. 44 499, which is equipped with hooks radially secured to an axle and a corresponding number of radiating plates or wings rotatably journalled on the same axle and abutting the hooks due to spring action or due to the shape of the plates/wings, and which retract from the hooks so that the hooks are laid bare upon pressure from the jaws of the fish. This construction leads, however, to a relatively substantial water resistance. It is relatively heavy and complicated and is therefore comparatively expensive. The device also provides resistance when the fish bites and thus counteracts the fish catching on the hook.